Should NYPD lawyers step in to prosecute? Protesters say no

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Police Department lawyers have been stepping into court to prosecute some low-level cases, including some against people arrested while protesting police brutality.

Activists are now trying to put a stop to the police-department prosecutions.

Two women arrested at a 2016 Black Lives Matter protest are scheduled for trial in criminal court this fall. Meanwhile, a ruling is expected soon in their civil suit challenging the police-attorney prosecutors.

Their lawyers say NYPD attorneys are improperly using prosecutions to fight false-arrest lawsuits.

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The NYPD says it's sick of getting sued by people who got cases dismissed in a summons court that usually has no prosecutor.

There's a history of police officers acting as prosecutors in low-level cases around the U.S. The custom has engendered some debate.